Terrifying Talent

When he returned home, Ye Tian couldn't wait a single moment before he started reading the Thundering Palm manuscript. This Martial Skill was truly powerful, and when mastered, it could generate nine palm shadows to confuse and defeat one's enemy.

But the Martial Instruction Pavilion elder was correct. This Martial Skill was incredibly difficult to cultivate because its requirements were too high; the entry-level requirement was an Orange Martial Spirit, but if one wanted to successfully cultivate the skill, they would need a Yellow Martial Spirit.

But for Ye Tian, this was no obstacle and he excitedly read through the key points of the book and began cultivating in his room.

"I have to cultivate the Thundering Power before I can cultivate the Thunder Palm. I have very little True Qi right now, so I can quickly convert it to Thundering Power!"

Ye Tian sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes and beginning to cultivate the Thundering Power according to the Thundering Palm's cultivation method.

As he expected, since he had just advanced to Martial Warrior, he didn't have much True Qi in his body and was easily able to convert it into Thundering Power. A mere hour later, he was finished.

After converting his True Qi to Thundering Power, his Qi became denser and flowed within him like a stream of spring water. When he finally opened his eyes, a fine light shone from his gaze.

"With the Thundering Power, I should be able to use the Thundering Palm!" Ye Tian stood and took a deep breath, his face becoming solemn as he separated his palms and positioned them according to the manuscript.

Calling out deeply, Ye Tian moved like a cheetah and shot forward, flashing almost a meter away and striking out with a wind-breaking thunder—truly majestic.

From afar, Ye Tian'spalm strike seemed to fly out in the midst of the shadows of three palms, and the entire strike was very difficult to decipher.

"Hu!"

After the strike, Ye Tian calmed his surging Qi, happiness flashing over his face as he murmured, "Powerful! The Thunder Palm is strong, like a hurricane filled with lightning! Incredible!"

"To master Thundering Palm, I need to create nine palm shadows with a single strike. With my Yellow Martial Spirit talent, I can only create three palm shadows right now. I still need to practice."

Ye Tian picked up the Thundering Palm manual again and began to study it carefully.

...

Time flowed like a running stream and rapidly passed by. The New Year Festival approached, and the entire Ye Family Village was filled with happiness. The Hunter teams had successfully brought back enough food for the winter, and they could rest easy at home.

As for Ye Tian, he stayed home the entire time, cultivating his True Qi and cultivating the Thundering Palm.

His Yellow Martial Spirit meant that his cultivation speed was ten times faster than even the most talented in the village, and a single day's work was equivalent to ten days' effort from someone else. After cultivating for a single month, Ye Tian had brought his True Qi to Peak Level One Martial Warrior, and now he might break through at any time.

Such a terrifying cultivating speed again demonstrated how important the Martial Spirit was. The higher the spirit grade, the faster the cultivation and thus the higher realm one could reach.

Ye Tian believed in his bones that this devouring ability would make his cultivation path much smoother than others'.

Moreover, a powerful Martial Spirit not only accelerated the speed of cultivation but also enhanced one's perception; within this month, Ye Tian had reached the level of eight palm shadows and was only a single shadow away from completion.

Now, a single palm strike would send out an array of eight palm shadows which covered the area before him; the real shadow mingled with the false, utterly confusing any onlooker. Every palm shadow carried a powerful aura, and the might of the eight palms together would shock the enemy's spirit.

"Tomorrow is New Year Festival. I won't be able to break through even if I spend every last moment cultivating. I might as well go out and find a beast to test my Thundering Palm!"

Ye Tian's eyes gleamed as he pushed open his door, and after he spoke a few words to his parents, he left the village.

It was deep in the winter, and ice and snow filled the heavens and the earth. A world of white stretched out before the Ye Family Village.

As an experienced Special Forces Soldier, Ye Tian knew exactly how important actual combat was. Even though he could tell that his Thundering Palm was incredibly powerful, without putting it to practice, his mind wouldn't be at ease.

Tomorrow was the New Year Festival, and he wasn't only going to reveal that he was now a Martial Warrior—he would also teach someone an unforgettable lesson.

"Ye Wei!"

Coldness flashed through Ye Tian's eyes.

Ye Wei and Lin Jiaojiao had planned their big day to coincide with the New Year Festival in a demonstration of power, allowing Ye Wei to show his talents to the entire village.

And Ye Tian planned to make trouble! He wanted to make Ye Wei lose face in public and wash away the humiliation he had experienced.

The shame of that punch—Ye Tian couldn't forget!

Crunch, crunch.

Ye Tian walked out into the thick and heavy snow, looking for a beast to fight. To his disappointment, the cold weather had scared home not only people but also beasts. All of them were hiding in their caves and hibernating.

Damn, no wonder all villages stop hunting during the winter. Ye Tian thought, realizing his stupidity. With such cold weather, where would he find a beast?

Ye Tian prepared to return home. The New Year Festival was the next day anyway, and he could test the results of his cultivation on Ye Wei.

"Roar!"

Just as Ye Tian was turning back, an angry roar filled the air. Ye Tian's eyebrows flew and he quickly jumped into the air, leaping away. When he turned back, he saw a huge snow bear before him.

The snow bear was eating something, probably another beast that it had killed. The carcass before it was completely and unrecognizably ruined.

"Snow bear, the equivalent to a Level Two Martial Artist!"

Ye Tian frowned at the bear. It was a normal beast but was still quite a powerful enemy for Ye Tian, not to mention that it was a realm higher than him.

To attack or retreat?

Ye Tian only hesitated a moment before rushing forward, dashing forward like a ferocious wild wolf towards the snow bear.

As a Special Forces Soldier, Ye Tian was very decisive, and once he made his choice, he immediately acted upon it with extreme speed, precision, and ferocity.

"Roar!"

As soon as Ye Tian rushed forward, the snow bear noticed this unexpected guest. It roared angrily and pounded its chest as if demonstrating its power.

Ye Tian sneered; an animal was still an animal—this kind of threat only worked on beasts and was basically useless against humans. As he approached, Ye Tian's eyes went cold and he struck out with his prepared Thundering Palm, the eight scary palm shadows completely trapping the snow bear.

"Roar!" The snow bear cried out in fury, not attempting to decipher the palm shadows; instead, it lifted its paws and smashed down heavily at Ye Tian with great power.

"Decent power, but too slow!" Ye Tian smirked, flashing to the side and dodging the snow bear's attack as all eight of the palm shadows struck unguarded against the snow bear's back.

As they connected, a powerful force surged forth from Ye Tian's palms and smashed against the snow bear's huge body, striking it down against the ground and sending a cloud of snow into the air.

"Powerful, but it won't be enough against this snow bear!"

After the palm strike, Ye Tian moved back instead of striking again, analyzing the fight. The most powerful feature of the Thundering Palm technique was in confusing the enemy, but this low realm beast utterly lacked self-awareness and it didn't care at all which palm was real and which was fake, so it was a poor test subject for the true power of the Thundering Palm.

But still, Ye Tian was very satisfied.

"Roar!"

At that moment, the snow bear roared angrily as it emerged from the snow and rushed at Ye Tian. Even though Ye Tian's attack had struck it head-on, its powerful body was basically uninjured.

So the difference between a Level One and Level Two Martial Artist is this large? This snow bear isn't as fast as me, but its power and sturdiness far exceed mine, Ye Tian thought with some shock, immediately fleeing. Ye Tian was brave and courageous but he wasn't an idiot; he knew he was no opponent for the bear, so of course he ran.

"Roar Roar!"

The snow bear roared furiously as it tried to give chase, but unfortunately, it was truly too slow and it soon lost track of Ye Tian and had to give up unwillingly.

Soon, Ye Tian returned to the Ye Family Village.

"Tian er, where did you go? The weather's so cold—you should stay at home! What if you catch a cold?" his mother said as soon as Ye Tian entered the door.

Ye Tian looked over and saw his mother approaching with a bowl of hot soup.

"Mom, your son is very strong!" Ye Tian patted his chest and smiled.

"Haha, that's right. Ye Meng's son will never be weak, so you should stop worrying," his father said, laughing as he walked in on their conversation.

"Dad, where have you been?" Ye Tian asked, looking over the snow-covered Ye Meng.

"Hmph, just talking about it makes me angry. That brat Ye Wei couldn't have chosen another day? It had to be the New Year Festival? He really wants to piss me off." Ye Meng snorted, his face unpleasant.

"Now, now. Don't bring your anger back home. Quickly drink this while it's still hot," Lin Mei said, bringing out another bowl.

Ye Tian grabbed his bowl of soup and asked again, curious, "Dad, why does it matter that Ye Wei wanted to get married during the New Year Festival? What's got you so angry?"

"Of course it matters. Lin Jiaojiao is the Lin Family Chief's eldest daughter, and this is an important marriage alliance between our villages, so the Village Chief asked all the Martial Artists Level Seven and higher to accompany Ye Wei to the Lin Family Village to welcome Lin Jiaojiao."

"Hmph!"

Ye Meng replied angrily.

Ye Tian understood. Clearly, his father's disgruntlement was because of him. If it was some other person, his father would've had no problem making the trek, but Lin Jiaojiao had come to his home to break off his son's engagement, yet now he had to go pick her up? Naturally, this upset him.

This matter involved losing face, and clearly, his father would go to the Lin Family Village unhappily.

"Dad, are you going to the Lin Family Village before the New Year Festival or after?" Ye Tian suddenly asked.

"Of course after. How could that brat Ye Wei be more important than the New Year Festival? Pah!" Ye Meng snorted.

"If that's the case, then bring me with you." Ye Tian stood, a small smile dancing across his face. Before his father could say anything more, he turned and walked to his room.

Ye Meng watched his son leave with some confusion and turned with furrowed brows to Lin Mei, asking her, "Do you think there's something odd with our son?"

"You're the odd one." Lin Mei rolled her eyes at Ye Meng, making him rub his nose.

"Our son has worked hard without a Martial Spirit. We should be happy for him," Lin Mei continued.

"But I feel like something's off!"

Ye Meng rubbed his chin and began to think.